The Cinders of Love Lead to Serenity
by PinkieYukari
Summary: PMD ship fiction; can and will be very gay. M for mentioning of genitalia and future lemons. Cyndy, the faithful partner of the former-human Chikorita he had teamed up with not so long ago, has been acting very strange since their graduation from the Guild. He can't sleep, and he always wants to be closer to him. Of course they both loved each other; saying it though...
1. Chapter 1 - Sleepless Nights

Chapter 1 - Sleepless Nights

_Cyndy's PoV_

You know, the more I thought about it, the more I seemed to like our little alcove here in Sharpedo Bluff. At first, I was slightly skeptical about it when we were hiding with Grovyle to escape the fear of sudden alienation from the Guild and all of Treasure Town's residents, but after graduating, it had taken on a real homey feel to it. It had a nice view of the ocean and the full moon that was out during the lulled darkness that was tonight.

Oh yeah... it's nighttime. I almost forgot. I guess I lost my internal sense of time because of my lack of sleep. It's true; I hadn't been able to sleep. Night after night, even as Serene, my loyal partner, fell asleep, my body refused to give me the same luxury. "Well, I guess it's because the poor guy has a knack for being knocked out by the sea." I chuckled at my own joke at the Chikorita's expense. In truth, I actually was quite grateful that I found him. If I hadn't found Serene down there by the beach, I never would have had the guts to join at Wigglytuff's Guild, and thus find out the secret to my Relic Fragment. I really did owe the little guy a lot. A smile overcame my face as I thought of all the great adventures we had over the course of that couple of months. A warm feeling began to envelop my chest as I pondered how he was always patient with me, no matter how dense I seemed or how hot-headed I could be in some situations. He was always right there beside me, ready to fight with me.

I sighed slightly as a deep blush formed on my face. I usually would attribute the warm feeling for me being a Cyndaquil, but even as dense as I could be, there was no way I could have missed it.

I was definitely in love with Serene.

The revelation was nothing that new; I knew I'd been feeling something for the human-turned-Pokémon since after the incident with Dialga, when he started to fade away. The sudden feelings had just rushed forth, like a mud dam built by Bidoof that had just burst.  
My eyes closed against my own will and they started to drip tears as the memory flashed through my mind.

* * *

_"Hey! Serene!"_

_I walked back towards the Chikorita, a questioning look decorating my face. It was odd... there were little orbs of light around him. Was this another one of his jokes? A feeling of dread hit my stomach as I saw his solemn face. Uh oh, I thought. Serene's acting weird... this can't be good. My vocal cords finally coughed up the question._

_"Huh...? Serene... what's wrong with you?"_

_His eyes started to gloss over with salty water, tears freely dripping onto the floating rock below our feet. "I'm sorry, Cyndy... I've kept this from you for so long..."_

_No... no! What could he have meant? What was he talking about? What was that light around him?_

_"It seems like... I have to say goodbye."_

_"W-what!? Goodbye? What do you mean?"_

_"Dusknoir told me. If we changed the future... all of the Pokémon from the future would disappear..."_

_Oh, no... please don't tell me this is going where I think..._

_"That's why... I'm destined to disappear, too."_

_As much as I would have liked to keep a facade of toughness up, I couldn't keep the tears from flowing either. "Wh-why? I don't understand!" He started smiling... why was he smiling? Wasn't he going to be gone soon?_

_"Thank you for everything. I'm going to disappear from here now... But, Cyndy..."_

_We both almost choked on the silence._

_"I'll never forget you."_

_The light around his form started to grow more frequent. I could even see small bits of him fading. A feeling of sorrow and dread filled the pit of my stomach, along with another feeling... was it longing? "W-wait a second... I only made it this far because you were with me, Serene. Don't you understand!? You made me strong, Serene..." I felt like shouting. In fact, I pretty much was at that point. "If you go, Serene... I... I couldn't -"_

_I felt a soft paw on my shoulder. "No, Cyndy. You have to be strong on your own. You have to live." How could he be so calm in this situation. Didn't he know he was leaving me forever!? He was leaving me without someone to talk to... without a friend... Damn him, sometimes... "You have to go home, and tell everyone what's happened here!" I was nearly clinging to his legs at this point, hoping that in some cosmic way, that would keep him from going._

_The light in response grew thicker and louder, nearly obscuring my view of my best friend... no. He was more to me than that by now. He was almost like family, but without the blood ties. "N-no... don't go... don't leave me! DON'T LEAVE ME, SERENE, PLEASE!"_

_"I'm glad for everything, Cyndy. I'm glad we got to train together... I'm glad we got to go on adventures together - I'm glad I got to know you, Cyndy."_

_I wasn't even making coherent sentences anymore. I was bawling and screaming, but the light managed to drown out my voice. I could have sworn that he said something else after that, but I wasn't paying attention anymore. My thoughts were filled with images of us, together, laughing playfully and adventuring together. My mouth decided to try its final attempt at speaking. "I know, Serene. T-to me, you're my... You're more important than anything in the world... I love y-"_

_He began to fade away. The light calmed down, and my paws flopped on rock. I shakily stood up and made my way back to the Rainbow Stoneship, my tears staining the cobble all the way. I kept muttering the same line over and over: "I love you, Serene... I'll never forget you..."_

* * *

My eyes finally opened, and unsurprisingly, the fur on my face was stained. I was greeted by the morning sun, and a rustling form beside me. I guess, in my mind's absence, Serene had crawled to sleep beside me, and he was just waking up. I smiled, thankful he was still here. The Chikorita that I so loved and cherished unceremoniously yawned and stood up, shaking his head as though he had dunked his head in ice water. He turned to me and immediately noticed my stained face. His expression quickly changed to a worried one. "Cyndy... are you okay? Have you been... crying?" I nodded. "Did you have a nightmare?" A shake of my head, and an explanation that I hadn't slept. "What...? Were you that worried about me? I'm sorry... I promise I won't do anything that stupid again." He was most likely referring to our trip to Blizzard Island. We had beaten Frosslass, sure, but he had caught a serious cold once we managed to get back from the island, and he barely escaped frostbite multiple times.

My eyes took the moment to look across my love's body. While it was short and stumpy, it was extremely cute, especially when he smiled. The leaf upon his head was strong and rubbery, though it did work like an actual plant's and performed photosynthesis perfectly, or at least from what I understand that he's told me - it makes sense; he's never really asked for too much food while we're at home during the day, preferring to stay outside and bask in the sunlight - and it's how he performs most of his attacks._ It's probably sensitive as well_, my thoughts concluded.

I had almost automatically stood on my two legs while my paws started to grab and rub the leaf. My eyes looked almost entranced in what I was doing. It was so weird... why was I fawning over my love this much -_ right in front of him_? I heard a moan coming from below me, and my trance was broken; I immediately removed myself completely from him, blushing and quickly backing up, muttering broken apologies. I looked into Serene's red eyes and saw... was that disappointment? No, probably not. He was definitely embarassed, though, with that contrasting red-on-green colour his face displayed.

"W-well," Serene started. "That's, uhh... surely a way to start the morning, isn't it? Are you okay? You've been acting strange for the past week."  
My red eyes drew back into his, unable to speak again. I don't know what came over me, but in an instant I threw my stubby arms around his neck and drew our faces closer. I chucked all my courage at him in the form of a kiss, one that only lasted for a few seconds before breaking off.

Serene looked almost bewildered, before shaking his head. He simply walked towards the stairs with a poker face that would kill a card Sharpedo before looking back at me, motioning me to follow him. "Come on, Cyndy; we're going back to Temporal Tower. I want to see Dialga again."


	2. Chapter 2 - Restless Mornings

Chapter 2 - Restless Mornings

_Serene's PoV_

Uh... right. So, uhh... Cyndy had just kissed me. Yep. Cyndy, my best friend and partner; he kissed me, out of the blue, after molesting my leaf. I mean, yes, sure, I _do_ love him, but that was extremely sudden. I should have been happy. In fact, I'm pretty sure I was. I wasn't quite sure what to believe, though. I had to be certain. My brain went into overdrive of how to prove this until I finally reached my conclusion. I trudged towards the stairs and told Cyndy to follow me, stating that we were going to Temporal Tower to see Dialga. I saw the poor Cyndaquil's dejected face as he walked behind me, ready to follow me wherever adventure took us no matter his feelings, and my heart broke slightly.

We made our way through Treasure Town, trying to avoid conversation with the townsfolk as much as possible, and even avoiding conversation between ourselves. I'm quite sure that at least half of the townsfolk saw our blushing faces as we had to squeeze by a few 'mon, drawing both of our bodies close together. I couldn't help but sigh as I felt my partner's warm coat against mine, reminding me of a dream I had had before, at the base of Temporal Tower.

"Ah, Serene, Cyndy. Pleasure to see you again."

Huh? That voice wasn't Cyndy's... I looked up to see the sprawling ocean before me, the water's surface reflecting the sun's rays in a way that always seemed to captivate Cyndy. I chuckled to myself quietly. I always thought that was cute, when his eyes lit up every time he saw the Krabby's little bubble ceremony.

A cough broke the silence, and I turned to see the large figure of Lapras looming overhead. Ah, so he was here again. "Pleasure to see you again as well, Mr. Lapras," Cyndy chimed in, quick to save my embarassment. "What brings you here?"

"Well, I've nothing to wait for, now that time has been saved by you two, so I've taken to just resting by this beach, where I've heard could be quite beautiful during dusk indeed."

"Well, yes, you'd be right about that, but we'd like to ask you a favor. Serene suggests that we should go back to talk to Dialga about something. Would you mind taking us back to the Hidden Land again?"

"As long as it's just the two of you, that won't be a problem."

And so, with not so much as a word, we were off to the place we were so eager to get past last time. It was funny, really. Because of the limited space on Lapras's back, we had to hold onto each other to stay on. Last time it didn't really bother me, but then again, last time I wasn't questioning whether or not my best friend was as madly in love with me as I was him, either. It really gave me time to look my love interest over. He was quite short, given his species, but his fur was soft, almost like silk, and his scent was almost as if he was sweating all the time... man, I was getting bothered. His eyes, when they weren't squinted at least, held a nice shade of ruby red, which I noticed had matched my own. I looked over around his stomach, which had a slight chub from overeating apples to make his Belly grow for the longer dungeons we had to trek through. Even further down under was his sheath... his warm sheath, from which his slick, pink, wet "self" would emerge given enough provoking. I immediately regretted my decision of mulling over him. I was getting hard, and eventually after a few painfully slow seconds, it was fully out, and due to our almost-hug-like position, it remained pressed into Cyndy's back.

"U-uh... I'm sorry, Cyndy, I-I..."

I clenched my eyes shut and waited for a response.

* * *

_"No need to be sorry, Serene."_

_What!? My eyes shot open, and suddenly our surroundings had changed. Lapras was gone, and we were at the foothills of the sprawling Hidden Land. I was seated on the dusty grass below our feet. I took notice as my member was still unsheathed and twitching against the warm, moist air. It seemed like most of this venture through the Hidden Land would be foggy. I would have gotten to my feet and signaled my faithful rodent-like partner to join me, as I still needed to do this... task of mine, and get it behind us, but the sight I beheld before me threw all of it over the edge of the floating island._

_Cyndy, the cute little bastard, was sprawled out, resting on his back. His legs were raised and his arms rested aside him, relaxed, but ready to tense in case his body needed to be anchored down. His rod stood at attention, coursing blood through itself with little throbs with what blood wasn't taken by his reddened muzzle, which was curled up into a lusty smile. I subconsciously stored the image for later, before I crawled forward, lacking my own volition, which had been instead switched for automation._

_"Well, Serene? You like what you see?" A smug tone added to the ardor adorned upon his cutely sexy face. My own face had been a ripe Chople red for a while, but the warmth across my my cheeks didn't register until the obvious question was answered silently with a nod. The landscape around us became an unnoticed oblivion, but I didn't care, in all honesty._

_My biggest crush was in front of me, and he wanted - no, pleaded for a form of release. For his own climax, and my own as well. Not with his words, of course, but it was dead-obvious within his eyes. Normally, Cyndy's eyes were squinted to the point of almost being shut, but not quite - he had noted it as being natural - and for the most part, they remained so. But, much to my surprise and pleasure, they were wide open, and the ruby orbs emitted a fire that only pure and intimate lust could fuel. I further approached my new lover as our faces became mere atoms apart, lips meeting and tongues dancing across each other, tasting the other as both of their feelings came out in the open._

_"I love you, Cyndy."_

* * *

"I love you, too, Serene."

A warm feeling nestled against me while I was unconscious, lying on soft ground with... was that grass under me?_ I wonder what that warmth is..._


	3. Chapter 3 - Not-So-Surprises All Around

Chapter 3 - Not-So-Surprises All Around

_First Part_  
_Serene's PoV_

I awoke to a nice heat spread around my area, a nice plush grass under my stomach where I lay, and the remnants of a pleasant dream. I usually wasn't the talkative type, but even I would be hard-pressed not to share it with Cyndy if it wouldn't make things more awkward between us... _for now_, anyways.

What? You expected me not to realize that Cyndy felt the same way for me? We weren't stupid; Cyndy knows how I feel, and I him; it's just a matter of getting the setting right for such a confession, no matter how obvious. That's why he and I are here in the first place.  
Wait... where are we, anyways?

A quick glance around and it was obvious. Lapras dropped us off his back onto the entrance to the dungeon. Well, I suppose 'dropped off' isn't the correct phrase. It would be more correct to say 'laid us down on the grass and watched us sleep'. His infinitely wise gaze, akin to that of the elder Torkoal, shone down upon me, as if he hadn't gotten any of the blessed shut-eye and yet still was not in the least of senses tired.

"You know, Mister Lapras... you could have at least looked away from us while we cuddled in our sleep. That's kinda creepy, man."

The shelled seafarer's smile just increased in length and serenity. His reply was almost bemused: "I suppose, but I just couldn't resist. You both looked quite adorable; especially after the little incident you both had on my back." He seemed to be suppressing quite the laugh. "Poor Cyndy there... he started to smoke like a volcano when you moaned in your sleep. Hope you go easy on him when it's the real thing."

_I should have guessed. Old people really are all perverts, even the wise ones - no, scratch that; ESPECIALLY the wise ones._

Trying to avert my eyes to something a bit more of interest and less disturbing, they started to dart around my skull again. The dungeon entrance, the sky and sea below us, the burn in the grass that matched the one in my dream -_ wait, what_?

Upon closer inspection, my assumption had been right. Even down to the location of the scorching, it was indeed an exact match for the one in my dream.

_Wait... does this mean we...?_

I looked towards the old sea turtle for an answer to the question clearly adorning my face. He simply tinted a very mild pink and chuckled. It was answer enough, though.

"_AND YOU WATCHED IT!?_" The words just flew out of my mouth with no heed for consequences. "You old pervert! Why didn't you at least, I dunno, look away or something?"

As if awoken by a very shrill Pidgey, which, let's face the fact I did pretty much sound like one at the moment, Cyndy started to stir in his sleep, eyes fluttering... well, as open as they usually were anyways - usually just a sliver opens up to let in enough light to see the surrounding area. His ears twitched as he tried to use his stubby forearms to clutch his head, like he had a migraine of some sort. I'm no liar; it was damn adorable.

"Ugh, what's with all the yelling, guys?"

I smiled at my partner and used one of my forelegs to point back at Lapras, and my smile quickly turned into a smirk. "Oh, nothing, Cyn. The old pervert Lapras was only watching everything we did last night and even was eyeing us in our sleep."

His face turned notably red and the flames on his back shot out like nettle. Oh, he was_ definitely_ awake now. "Wh-what!? Everything we did? You mean even the s -" His speech started to stumble, eventually becoming completely incoherent before coming straight back. "I-I mean what? Serene, what's wrong with that? I-I mean, it's not like we did anything dirty in the middle of the night or something, ehehe..." He looked away and coughed awkwardly, and I could tell he was sweating because no normal Pokémon could ever stand the amount of heat lurching from the quills of Steel-type-melting conflagration emanating from his back at that moment.

"B-besides, that doesn't matter; weren't we here so you could talk with Dialga or something?"

_Trying to change the subject doesn't hide the fact that you enjoyed it, Cyndy!_ But, in any case, he's right. Well, almost. It's a shame I had to lie to him, but getting him here might have proven too difficult otherwise.

I nodded, chuckling at poor Cyndy's embarassment. Even as we were finished preparing at the Kangaskhan Rock and headed through the entrance to probably one of the most dangerous dungeons we had ever set foot in, he was billowing smoke trails that would attract rescuers from miles away, if the island wasn't hidden in something as ambiguous as "the split of a second."

Getting through the first half of the dungeon wasn't too hard - it seemed we were lucky when going through the place, because on over half the floors, the stairway was in the room we were in or fairly close. We stopped at the next Kangaskhan Rock to rest, but moved on quickly.  
"Ah, sweet, we're almost there, Serene!" Cyndy's voice had broken the deafening silence. I wanted to speak for a while, but I felt like I would spill the proverbial beans if I even tried to open my mouth. I simply nodded and moved forward through the corridors.

_Last floor before the Old Ruins and the Rainbow I can finally reveal my... well, he knows by now, but it just feels like I'd be letting off a huge secret by doing this._

I wasn't paying attention to where I was going, and soon my reckless moving in one direction put me face to face with a Magmortar. It was much taller than me and had such a menacing grin on his face. Nothing I hadn't faced before. I pulled my body back and dashed forward, throwing all my weight into a Body Slam which crashed me into the beast, knocking him back a smidge and ending him up with a broken _something_, I'm sure. He stumbled up onto his feet before pointing his arm at me. I looked forward with mild terror as flames started to shoot towards me. There was no way for me to dodge sideways in the cramped corridor and Cyndy was to my back. It seemed there was no way to dodge it; I'd have to take the hit. Bracing myself, the scorching Flamethrower hit my front, scorching my face and leaving me with a burn that would seem to last. A muffled scream from my partner was all I heard for a while as I shook off the pain, barely standing, though it was no problem to me at the moment.

A smirk adorned my face as my red eyes started to glow at first a dim viridian, which grew into a more lustrous evergreen color as I prepared to unleash an Overgrown Giga Drain.

_This'll take care of HIM and heal me in the process. No problem and we can continue on without a ca-_

Suddenly, a sand-stream whipped up from seemingly nowhere, obscuring my vision from most things around me, and I broke concentration, which caused my attack to miss. A look of real shock and awe immediately replaced my confidence from a second ago. I fell to the floor as another billow of flames came over me, and I was out like a light...

* * *

Chapter 3 - Not-So-Surprises All Around

_Latter Part_  
_Cyndy's PoV_

"N-No! SERENE!"

I watched as the sandstorm struck and the attack Serene had prepared missed, and in naught but a second another curtain of fire had washed over him, and when I could even see him again, his skin was charred and he was - in an ironic turn of phrase - out cold.

Then the beast mercilessly stepped over the Grass-type's body and aimed its cannon directly towards me. I was scared, but also extremely angry. The damned thing had knocked out my precious Serene! I quickly dodged out of the way of it's Fire Punch by burrowing into the soft soil beneath me with my stubby paws. I quickly pushed past the earth until I was sure I was under the Magmortar before launching myself up and bashing my head on his chin, sending it flying and against the wall, knocked out. A yellow light engulfed it and sent it Arceus-knows-where out of the dungeon.

My feeling of seething rage having been calmed, I reached into our Treasure Bag - which was still upon Serene's back (despite me being the bipedal one, he preferred to keep it, saying he didn't want to trouble me. Such a gentlemen, he is) - and pulled out a Reviver Seed. I opened his jaw and placed the seed within his mouth, letting the oversized nut rest gently between his teeth, then rather violently jammed it shut.

...What? It's the only way to crack the darned seeds!

in any case, I let go of the breath that had hitched inside my throat when Serene groaned, standing up to his feet and comically shook the soot out of his coat as best he could. I almost knocked him back down on the ground as I launched myself in for a desperate hug.

"Jeez, Serene! Don't scare me like that!"

"Heheh... Sorry, Cyndy."

No more words were spoken, and though the atmosphere seemed heavy with awkwardness, we made it through the rest of the Highlands with no real problem - mostly just scrapes and bruises. I had to admit - we were getting great with this. No real surprise, considering we were a Gold Rank adventuring team by now, but still, it was nice to see that we're strong enough to best these monstrous creatures in just one or two hits.  
And to think, I wouldn't be this strong without the handsome Chikorita right in front of me, shaking his hips as if on purpose while walking through the decrepit ruins. My thoughts turned slightly towards the more lewd side as our twosome strolled into the open air, the Rainbow Stoneship sitting there like it was waiting for us to come along again. An uneventful ride other than a few playful proddings at each other, this journey relatively more carefree than the last time we had come.

A few more instances of harping on that thought were had. Last time we were here - you know, since we were saving the world and everything - we had been stressed out and tired through the whole adventure. I had my fair share of moments where I felt like I would be finished off in a Salamence's lunch, but I pulled through, because I knew after it was over, I would be able to relax with Serene after it was all over.

_To think, that it was because of Dialga's kindness that Serene is even here... I couldn't imagine going through life without him. I probably would have disbanded the team... quit the Guild... maybe even ki-_

"Cyndy? Are you... crying?" My wonderful partner swiveled around and his eyes were filled with worry. I shook myself in hope of clearing the tears from my eyes, but in vain, said nothing, shaking my head 'no'. I stepped off of the platform and stumbled over my legs. Serene tried to help me up, but I pushed his helping leg away, opting to push myself up instead. I was strong enough to handle what was coming, and I assured myself so.  
We continued to walk forward, Serene taking the lead, towards that menacingly tall tower, where Dialga resided. Suddenly, I bumped into something soft and my gaze returned in front of me to see the love of my life with an odd expression on his face. He seemed almost... unsure of what to say. He was biting his lip and his eyebrows were upturned in slight worry.

"Well, I suppose here is the best place."

I kept silent, awaiting an explanation. And _boy_, did it come rushing forth. If the words he were about to say were water, it would have rivaled the strength of Waterfall Cave's geyser.

"Do you remember the last time we stood in this place, Cyndy? The last time... after we had saved the world? I was... to leave you, and I was saying my last farewell?"

I nodded my head, not saying a word.

"Well... I didn't get a chance to finish."

It was then that I spoke up. "H-huh? What do you...?"

"I told you to go back and tell everyone the story of what happened here. I told you to be strong and to never give up. I heard you screaming, even beyond the deafening lights, to not let you be alone. I wished that I had the choice... the time.  
Cyndy, I heard you scream your soul. And now that I have all the time in the world, I'd like to pour my soul out as well.  
"I'd like to spend the rest of my days with the one I admire most. The best partner ever. The one who stuck by my side, from the beginning. I'm sure no other person in this world would had believed me if I had told them that I was once a human. That in itself made me believe there was hope for me in this unfamiliar world. Even as I disappeared, here, in this spot... you never once put me at fault, or held a grudge against me. I'm sorry to have put you through all that, Cyndy."

My eyes were like a dam fit to burst. The last pause was agonizing. We both knew he was going to say it. It was just a matter of the WHEN he was going to say it. I wished that I could see what his face looked like, but my eyes were too blurry to comprehend the backs of my eyelids, even.

"Yes, Cyndy. The one I love... is you."

I set my front paws down at the ground as my body lurched forward, preferring to opt for the four-legged approach to my imminent Tackle-hug. I still couldn't properly see, but it didn't even take a small amount of common sense to figure out that our bodies connected, and he accepted his fate as I pushed us both back on the floating, rocky trail and we both landed, Serene on his back, and me on him. My muzzle gravitated towards his...

And for the first _official_ time, we had kissed.


End file.
